NATO building shelter for 4,000 people in Türkiye's Antakya, Iskenderun districts

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – NATO is currently setting up shelters in Antakya and Iskenderun districts of southern Hatay province in Türkiye to welcome 4,000 people who lost their homes in the earthquakes, the alliance announced on Thursday.

“NATO Allies and partners continue to provide aid to Türkiye” after the devastation of the earthquakes in the country’s southern parts, the alliance said in a statement summarizing the latest aid.

NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency is building temporary shelters for 4,000 people in Antakya and Iskenderun.

The camp in Antakya is expected to open in mid-April with a capacity to host over 2,400 people.

NATO members also agreed to build a similar facility to accommodate additional 4,000 people in Defne, another district.

In recent weeks, NATO has airlifted over 10,000 tents, blankets and medical equipment from Pakistan.

France also delivered 5,000 tents and thousands of blankets.

Nearly 50,000 people were killed in Türkiye by magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes that hit on Feb. 6, according to officials.

Some 13.5 million people have been affected in Türkiye by the massive quakes which struck the provinces of Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

They also rattled several neighboring countries and caused widespread destruction in northern Syria, where nearly 3,500 people were killed.